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Activists, actors and politicians gathered Saturday in New York City to honor civil rights leader Malcolm X with a ceremony at the Harlem site where he was assassinated 50 years ago. About 300 people converged to hear remarks from one of Malcolm X's six daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz, as well as elected officials. The ceremony was held at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, formerly known as the Audubon Ballroom. A blue light shone onto the floor in the exact spot where he was gunned down. A mural with images of Malcolm X adorned a wall. "He was just a young man who gave all that he possibly could," Shabazz said after a moment of silence marking...

Related "Malcolm X" Articles

Activists, actors and politicians gathered Saturday in New York City to honor civil rights leader Malcolm X with a ceremony at the Harlem site where he was assassinated 50 years ago. About 300 people converged to hear remarks from one of Malcolm X's six...

A public forum will reflect on race relations on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X. Organizers say the Saturday afternoon gathering at Roxbury Community College will focus on "police brutality" and "the economic...

One of the last major digital holdouts, "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," should soon be available as an e-book, the attorney for the late activist's estate told The Associated Press. L. Londell McMillan said Friday that a digital edition will...

The president of Wright State University and its dining services vendor have apologized for a Black History Month menu that featured fried chicken and collard greens. The menu screens at the Ohio school also offered mashed potatoes and cornbread under...

Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will mark the 50th anniversary of Malcolm X's assassination with a public conference at their schools. Scholars will discuss the life and teachings of Malcolm X and assess his relevance...

The Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks said Thursday they will move ahead with building an office complex next to the United Center, and the Hawks will look into acquiring enough nearby property to also build a two-rink practice facility on the Near West Side....

Of the words most frequently used to describe the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. today, "radical" is not high on the list. With his insistence on nonviolence, his Southern humility, his Christian bearing, and his soaring yet measured oratory,...

Poet, memoirist and performer Maya Angelou has died at age 86, Wake Forest University announced Wednesday. The multi-talented artist was also a celebrated civil rights advocate and pioneer.
As a poet, Angelou was best known for reading at President...

You want to think that when a person has lived a robust life, her death won't sting as much. But on Wednesday when I learned of the great poet Maya Angelou’s passing, that life well-lived didn't make me feel any less heartbroken.
One of my first calls...

"I'd like to rip her throat out!"
This is what the great Meryl Streep supposedly said -- all in good actorish fun -- when Madonna's tireless campaign to play the lead in the movie "Evita" came to pass in 1997.
But that might be the...

She bought her clothes for their colors in secondhand shops — "beautiful reds and oranges, and greens and pinks, and teals and turquoise" — and wore them in happy mismatch. She danced feathers and a few sequins to Alvin Ailey's leopard print...

Spike Lee was a pioneer in several ways when he started making movies in the 1980s. Now with a new Kickstarter campaign, he’s become the latest director to jump on the go-to vehicle for 21st century pioneers (and the occasional celebrity).Acknowledging...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 276 new members into the organization on Friday -- 100 more than were included in the 2012 invitees -- including a large number of minorities and women, such as Rosario Dawson, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh,...

Credited with reenergizing and modernizing the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, NAACP president Benjamin Jealous announced Sunday he will step down from his position at the end of the year.
In a statement, Jealous said he wanted...

Amiri Baraka died Thursday after weeks of failing health, a family spokeperson confirmed. He was 79.
A playwright, poet, critic and activist, Baraka was one of the most prominent and controversial African American voices in the world of American letters....

Can a jazz guitarist grow up idolizing Stevie Ray Vaughan? That may be a question for the purists in considering “Golden Age,” the debut album from Nir Felder, who took up guitar at age 13 and still plays the $250 Stratocaster he bought with the...

The year is 1992. Nelson Mandela, two years beyond his release from 27 years of political imprisonment and two years before he will be elected president of South Africa, stands before a classroom of Soweto children.
A rare moment is being captured by...

A deceased biographer and a first-time bestselling novelist are among the finalists for the 2011 National Book Awards. Five finalists in four categories – fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people's literature – were announced Wednesday in Oregon. ...

Every so often a book comes along that changes the world in some way. Maybe it heralds the start of a social movement, or enlightens the world about events long hidden. Only in hindsight can we see what a difference such a book made. Here is one such...